Things I learned from the Germany trip

I'm back from Germany! Actually I've been back for a few weeks but have been so busy catching up & planning more events I haven't had time to post.

The trip was so much fun! I didn't know where we were going in Germany until we were on our way to the airport so that was a fun surprise. We started out in Berlin, took the train to Munich, overnight train to Paris, train to Cologne, and then back to Berlin for a few days before we left. I'll post some pics and stories about the trip later, but thought I'd share a few travel tips I learned.

• We had WAY too much luggage for a trip that involved going from city to city. It was a struggle to get up & down escalators, find space on the train, and a pain to carry around. I don't think I'd go as far as a carry-on (mainly because of the liquid restrictions), but I'd definitely bring one manageable sized bag. After all, when you're in several cities on your trip no one even knows you wore the same outfit the day before!
• Reserve your seat on the trains. I wouldn't do it until you get there because then you have flexibility, but it ensures you have a seat in a non-smoking car (if you want) and you have to have reservations for some trains (much to our surprise!).
• If you're on an overnight train, don't go into an empty berth to get away from your berth-mates. We learned that mistake at someone else's expense when he got woken up by a German conductor yelling "where's your passport?" "give me 20 Euros!" "get out". Not a pleasant way to wake up.......
• Water is more expensive than alcohol in a lot of places. At one of our dinners in Paris the water bill was more than our wine bill. Had we realized that we would have forgone one of the waters for another bottle of wine! After all, you can always rehydrate later. Since I only like still water (I only like bubbles in my alcohol), we started asking for table water, which is tap water. That saved at least 10 Euro a day, which is a lot considering the exchange rate is about $.75 Euro to $1 US.
• Bring an empty zippered bag in your luggage so you have room to bring souvenir's home. Still take the first piece of advice (bring less shit) but bringing an empty bag saves you the hassle of having to search for an inexpensive bag when you're in a foreign city.

My last piece of advice is don't try to fit too much in. To me, the point of a vacation isn't to spend the whole time rushing from place to place or setting your alarm every day. Sleep in if you want! Get off the beaten path & find something out of the ordinary. Go out for a walk without a specific destination in mind-just make sure you have a map!

Look for a FemmeTastics! travel adventure to be announced in the next few weeks. We'll be doing some preview events including storytelling and travel journals. You can get ready by sending me one of your favorite travel photos along with the story that goes with it!